Be Social, Sell More
Orange County, California is known for quite a few things – beautiful people, beautiful weather, and a fair amount of reality television drama. Maybe we should add top sales professionals to that list?
This week we spoke with Michelle Goyette, New Business Development Executive at Hibu. For those unfamiliar, Hibu specializes in helping companies manage their digital presence – from creating a web presence to hosting and even driving up web traffic. In her first year at the company, she was able to secure the top sales ranking for her highly competitive region.
Michelle has also used her social sales know how to land over 100 clients in a single calendar year – I don’t think many of us can say that. And as you’ll see when Michelle talks about “social sales” she isn’t talking about Twitter or Facebook. She was kind enough to sit down with us to go through her top three tips for sales success, and how you can be social and sell more.
(You should also try Spiro’s sales automation CRM!)
Sales People Need To Talk To Everyone
It seems like such a simple thing, but Michelle’s first bit of advice was to just start… talking. Talk to your neighbors; try cracking a joke to the person behind you in line; have a friendly conversation with the mailman. Every conversation is a networking opportunity, and you aren’t doing yourself any favors if you’re not building rapport with everyone around you.
She expanded on this even more by encouraging salespeople to sign up for active group activities (she did preface this by saying that this bit of advice was “so Californian”). Group activities are really just a means to an end though – the important part is putting yourself in a position to be social and interact with more people.
Use Your Network!
Assuming you’ve done your job with the previous tip, you should be well on your way to building an impressive network. What are you going to do with all those new LinkedIn connections (or business cards, for you crazy sales people not on LinkedIn)? Use them to your advantage!
A lot of people seem to be scared to probe their own network, especially when it comes to sales. They might be afraid to come across as preying on the kindness of friends and family, which is baloney (and not bologna, confirmed after a google search).
It’s often about education – if you’re in sales, you’re filling a need for someone out there. Michelle gave a specific example where she probed her network, and it turned out a close family friend was in need of her services. They actually were not aware of what she did for a living, but now they sure do. We know that prospects buy from those they know, like and trust – and I’m willing to bet your network provides a good amount of people that fit that criteria.
Ask For The Business, And Don’t Be Afraid To Ask For More
We’ve heard this from past sales rockstars we’ve talked to, but good advice is worth repeating. If you’ve done your homework, you should ask for the business! And if you’ve got it? Hell, ask for more.
A bit of being a successful salesperson is having the confidence to be social and own it. Michelle mentions knowing your product like the back of your hand – any possible question someone asks of you, you should be able to anticipate and speak to. Being this prepared will allow you to approach your meetings with confidence, and to have the confidence to just ask for it.
Find Out Other Top Sales Tips
Since you’ve read this far into stepping up your social game, why not brush up on how to not be a sales robot. And while being social is key, try to avoid the mess that comes with sales and relationship apps.
Photo courtesy of Flickr user Taylor Miles.
